Congo: Mass rape happened near UN Peacekeeper's camp?
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Burke
UN surfaced with a report that more than 500 women and children were victims of rape since late July.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Atul Khare was sent to Democratic Republic of Congo by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to investigate the attacks in July and August.
Khare cited 267 rapes or other sexual attacks in the town of Uvira plus the 242 rapes reported earlier in and around Luvungi and other regions of North and South Kivu. He also learned that some victims in South Kivu included 21 children whose age range between seven and 15.
Khare went to Congo with other UN representatives to find out why the peacekeepers group did not learn of the attacks sooner esp that of Luvungi which is near their camp. The United Nations initially claimed that they learned about it in August 16 through the Medical Corps. On Tuesday, however, the UN admitted receiving the July 30 report which confirmed a rape report in Mpofi which passed under control of FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) combatants. This was relayed to relief agencies working in the area to alert them.
A UN representative who also sent with Khare reported to Margot Wallstorm, a UN special representative for sexual violence in conflict, that the victims said there’s no safe place as they are raped wherever they would be like when harvesting crops, going to market, fetching water and firewood, carrying their babies, at home at night, among their loved ones.
In a statement, Khare said that while the primary responsibility for protection of civilians lies with the state, its national army and police force, the UN (including himself) has failed and must do better.
Khare recommended to the Security Council that should a chain of command is proven to impose targeted sanctions on the leaders of FDLR both within and outside the country.
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